and the lights just keep on dimming
by chasingafterstarlight
Summary: "There's no reasoning behind becoming an actress, Lorcan." Lorcan Scamander is determined to help Lucy Weasley become the actress that he knows that she was born to be. Too bad her Ravenclaw brain won't accept it. -LucyLorcan-


**and the lights just keep on dimming**

_Lucy/ Lorcan_

**what hurts the most  
is being so close  
having so much to say  
and watching you walk away**

_What Hurts the Most_, Rascal Flatts

The first time they meet, he doesn't really notice her.

She just blurs into the background, behind _Molly_ who just won't stop talking, while **Lucy** sits there and smiles. She doesn't seem like the outgoing type at all.

That is, until little nearly- eleven year old Molly shows up at their door and asks them if they would like to come and watch Lucy in her company's production of the Muggle story _Cinderella._ Though Lucy's part isn't major, she tells them, she _is _an amazing actress, and well, Molly's family bought extra tickets.

With little consideration, they both agree to it. He's a little bit dubious- I mean, this is the quiet little Weasley they're talking about, all right? But once he gets there, he's _stunned._

She takes over the stage with her tiny presence. Her voice, normally so quiet and timid, comes out loud and clear upon that stage. Within just a few minutes of being in the theatre and watching her, he backs up Molly's statement completely- she's an amazing actress, possibly beyond belief.

The way she acts, you wouldn't know that this isn't her life, her story, her words- she moulds them and shapes them until they are her own. He's hooked, line and sinker, for this girl that he hardly knows at all.

She comes off of the stage in her blaze of glory, getting showered with flowers and compliments, just as she deserves. Quickly, he runs up to her. "Lucy, you were amazing! Do you plan on becoming a professional actress someday?" He feels like a reporter, but he doesn't care.

Her blue eyes seem to flash as she giggles. "A professional actress, Lorcan? Acting is _not_ a good, high up job, you know. Especially for a young, smart witch. At least that's what my father says," she shrugs. "So yeah, right now it's just my favourite hobby."

His jaw nearly hits the floor. "But Lucy, you were amazing! How can you go up there and do _that_ and then not pursue it as a career? You could become rich…"

"But I'm a witch, Lorcan," She, the nine-year old girl says, bright smile still plastered across her face. "Don't you know that witches never become actresses? That's not a good job for a witch, Daddy says. So I'll just do it for fun."

He turns after her, hoping to protest some more and change her mind, but she's already walked off. Sighing, he just turns to where Lysander's chatting with Molly _(some sort of dumbstruck expression on his face_) and interrupts abruptly. "Why won't your sister become an actress? As in _professionally_?"

Cute little redhead _Weasley_ Molly just shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know. She's just scared of what Daddy will say, I suppose. It's a stupid reason, really…"

"But she's so good!" Lorcan argues. "Shouldn't she be given the chance to show that off a little more?"

"I suppose," Molly looks a bit uncomfortable. "Why do you care so much? Do you fancy her or something?"

"No," Lorcan protests, frowning at Molly. "She's only a little girl, Molly."

"All right," Molly says, pursing her lips, but the frown on her face indicates that she doesn't believe him.

…

He doesn't usually think much on the subject of houses. Once he gets there, he gets sorted into Ravenclaw, and that's that. It's pretty much what's expected of him, and he doesn't think it's worth too much drama. His twin brother, Lysander, is sorted into Gryffindor. The only real drama is when Dominique Weasley is sorted into Slytherin. But _Merlin_, he thinks, it's just a house. He doesn't understand what the drama's all about.

The first time he actually considers what house Lucy Weasley might be in is at the train station when she's seeing them off the first day before second year.

"Goodbye, Molly," Lucy mutters, giving her sister a hug. She goes down the row, giving all of them hugs, and there's no drama with her. Unlike Lily, who still has stray tears streaking down her face, she stays perfectly composed as she says goodbye to her 'family'.

Leaning down to her ear, Lorcan whispers, "Stay good this year, little actress."

"I'm not an actress," Lucy sighs, sounding a bit regretful. "I'm just _Lucy Weasley_. Acting is for those Muggles in the United States or whatever. I probably won't even make it into Gryffindor cause I'm not good enough."

"What does it matter?" Lorcan sighs, taking her hands in his. "Come be a Ravenclaw with me. Together, we can take over the school or whatever. Who instilled that idea into your head anyway?"

Lucy shrugs, but he senses the indecision in her eyes. Finally, she admits, "James, of course. Who else?"

"Remind me to murder that kid for putting such ideas in your head," Lorcan scowls at Lucy's older cousin. "Gryffindor's the best- and basically the _only_- house. Hah! As if. I mean, Gryffindor's lost its popularity with the loss of Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter."

"Thanks, Lorcan," She giggles, grinning up at him. "I suppose I won't be very disappointed if I'm put into Ravenclaw, then."

He hugs her just a little bit tighter to him then. "Well, Lucy, I suppose I'll see you next summer."

"I suppose you will," She says, and then corrects herself. "No, I _hope_ you will"

He smiles at her. "I hope so too. Goodbye, Lucy!"

"Goodbye!" She calls back. Then he gets on the train, and as the train zooms out of distance, he waves goodbye to her.

….

She's always been one of the only ones that's able to tell Lorcan and Lysander apart.

Even Molly, who just might fancy Lysander, sometimes gets the two of them mixed up. But no, Lucy's always right on the mark.

One day, they decide to switch clothes, personalities, the like, and hope that no one can tell them apart. So Lorcan saunters up to Lucy, doing his very best Lysander impression. "Well, hello, Lucy, my sister." He even adds in the wink that's so characteristic of Lysander.

Lucy immediately bursts out laughing. "Well, I sure hope I'm not _your_ sister. Hello there, Lorcan."

"How did you know?" Lorcan hisses, tossing his _(Lysander's_) baseball cap to the ground. "No one else could tell! I thought I was doing pretty well! What gave me away?"

Wide-eyed, Lucy just shrugs. "Nothing, Lorcan, you were pretty spot on. I mean, I've just always been able to tell the two of you apart. It's a talent, I suppose."

Lorcan just stares at her. "You're very talented, Lucy."

Lucy sighs, rubbing a piece of brown hair between her fingers. "Is this about the whole acting thing again? Because, you know, Lorcan, it goes against all reason for a _witch_ to act. I am going to grow up, get a respectable job, you know, all of that. And you should lose this… this _vision_ of me being an actress, because really, it's impossible."

"Nothing's impossible," He whispers. But from that moment on, he knows for sure that she's going to be a Ravenclaw, since she bases everything on _reason._

….

The next year, her name is one of the last to be called, right after Hugo _(who's been Sorted into Hufflepuff)_. Slowly, she meanders to the stool, placing the hat slowly upon her head. It seems to deliberate with her for a while, some sort of bickering back and forth with the Hat, which has been unseen up until that point. With each moment the Hat and the girl wasted arguing, it became increasingly obvious which House she would be put into.

"RAVENCLAW!" The Hat calls in some sort of pain.

Her blue eyes cloud over, but she walks over to the Ravenclaw table, which immediately erupts into applause for the new Weasley addition. She smiles at all of them, but she's always been a good actress, hasn't she?

_(In other words, she's just pretending)_

All of the Ravenclaws surround her, but she just blushes. Lorcan peers at her curiously, then scooting over to offer her a seat beside him. Slowly, she slides in, keeping the fake smile plastered upon her face.

"I told you that you would end up in Ravenclaw with me, Lucy," Lorcan informs her, staring at her. "Don't be disappointed. Ravenclaw is an amazing house, you know."

"Who said that I'm disappointed?" Lucy inquires, crossing her arms over her chest."I'm _smiling_, for Merlin's sake, Lorcan, can't you tell?"

"That's a fake smile, Lucy," He hisses. "You know it and I know it too. You might _think_ that you can use this gift of acting to your advantage, like some twisted Slytherin, but I can see straight through you, Lucy Weasley."

"I'm only a first year," She retorts, glaring at him. "What sort of tricks do you think that I have up my sleeve? I'm not some common Slytherin, _Lorcan._ I've been placed in Ravenclaw, same as you, and I never said I wasn't happy about it. I mean, it doesn't matter to me that Molly's in Gryffindor."

"All right," Lorcan replies, his eyes trained on her. "If you're _sure_…"

"I am sure," Lucy declares, but she doesn't look at him, she doesn't meet his eyes.

So he just walks away, leaving her behind at the Ravenclaw table, because he can't _deal_ with this anymore. He can't deal with her tricks and her pretending that she doesn't care.

Since he cares about her and all.

….

Before he knows it, time's flying by in the blink of an eye, and scrawny little Lucy's being pushed out of the groups. She doesn't seem to have many friends, really, the total opposite of social butterfly Molly, who gets along with nearly everyone. In fact, she stays in the common room a large percentage of the time, just sitting and doing nothing.

"Lucy," He says one day, staring at her. "Come outside with me, yeah? Lily will be there, and Natalie- have you met her?- and Louis, and some other Ravenclaws."

"Louis and Lily aren't Ravenclaws," Lucy mutters quietly, brushing a hair behind her ear.

He frowns at her. "Lucy, they're your cousins! And you've been all but ignoring them! We all miss you, Lucy, can't you just come out there for a little bit instead of sitting in the common room and pretending that…."

"Fine," She cuts him off, standing up quickly. "Fine, I'll come with you."

He leads her out of the common room. Instead of matching his pace, she walks a few steps behind him, looking a bit sullen. Finally, they make it outside. Snow covers the ground, and all of the aforementioned people are shrieking, throwing snowballs and creating snowmen. Lucy hangs back a bit, as if she's waiting for Lorcan to go first.

"Lucy!" Lily shrieks, throwing herself at her cousin. Unlike Lucy, Lily has no qualms about anything.

"Hello, Lily," Lucy says stiffly, glancing around.

"Want to join in the snowball fight?" Lily inquires. "It's me and Lorcan versus Natalie, Louis, and Janelle, so you can be on me and Lorcan's team! Then the teams will be even and all!"

"All right," Lucy replies guardedly, without looking at anyone, eyes searching the ground.

"Shall we start then?" Lorcan asks. Without warning, a laughing Natalie launches a snowball at them, and the fight begins just like that.

Snowballs are thrown back and forth, back and forth, over and over again. At first, Lucy does nothing except dodge them. But then, with his impeccably good aim, Louis hits her with a snowball nearly in her face.

Lorcan runs to her, asking her if she's okay, and Louis yells, "OH, I'm sorry, Lucy!" But she doesn't seem too affected. In fact, she packs a big snowball, then throws it as hard as she can, hitting Louis Weasley smack in the middle of his face.

Louis laughs, wiping the snow off of his perfect button nose. "Feisty, are we, little cousin? We'll see how far that takes you!" Then he fires one back, and the fight is on again.

Watching her _(like some sort of stalker, but he's always been observant_), he notices that she has nearly flawless aim. Not to mention every time she hits someone, she roars with laughter. When she gets hit, she only gets more determined to hit people.

"You should have been a Slytherin," Lorcan whispers in her ear in between throwing and dodging.

"And you should have been a Gryffindor," She retorts, barely even taking a pause from throwing to look at her.

"Ooh," He winces at her blazing words. "Burn. Do you have some sort of vendetta against Gryffindors?"

"Why not?" She shrugs. "When is this over, anyway? You know, when does our team win?"

"Whenever they declare that we are superior to them," Lorcan says in his superior voice, smiling at her. "Which means we must have no mercy on them." Calling out to Lily, he yells, "Shall we triple team them?"

Lily grins, her rosy red cheeks standing out even more. "Yes, we shall. On the count of three, then?"

Grinning, Lorcan yells, "ONE… TWO… THREE!"

On the count of three, they all rush off towards the other three, pounding them with snowballs. Within a few minutes, the other team yells "SURRENDER", so they stop, smiles on all of their faces, Lucy still laughing which she _never does_ anymore. Covered in snow, Natalie, Louis, and Janelle huff, shaking the snow off of them.

"You win," Louis says grudgingly.

"If we don't surrender, I have a feeling I'll be shaking snow off of me for two months straight," Natalie grumbles playfully.

"I like the snow," Janelle grins dreamily. "But shall we go inside? The Nargles are going wild!"

Still talking playfully, the other three go inside, leaving Lorcan, Lily, and Lucy out in the snow still.

Lorcan wraps one arm around Lily and the other around Lucy. "We won, you two! We won!"

Laughing still, Lucy agrees, "Yes, we did." Quietly, she adds, "Thanks for letting me join all of you; it was a lot of fun."

"Glad you had fun," Lily giggles, red spots still painted on her porcelain cheeks.

Lorcan nods, agreeing. Slowly, he whispers in the little girl's ear, "Anything for you, Lucy dear."

But he's thirteen going on fourteen and she's eleven going on twelve, so she's _much, much_ too young for him to even think about.

So, for the time being, he doesn't.

….

The next year, his fourth year and her second, the three of them become inseparable- Lucy, Lorcan, and Lily. People start to call them the Bronze Trio, the Silver Trio being Molly, Lysander, and Dominique, and the Golden Trio being Rose, Scorpius, and Albus. You never see one of them without at least one of the others.

Everyone gives Lorcan grief for hanging out with girls two years younger than him, his housemates and brother included. Too bad he has never really cared what they thought of him.

One day, he stumbles upon Lucy and Lily outside, acting out a situation- Lily as the annoying boyfriend and Lucy as the snobby girlfriend.

"Come on, baby," Lily says, giggling throughout, "Give me a chance." _She's never really been the actress type_, Lorcan deduces.

"No," Lucy snaps, not breaking character to join Lily in her giggle fit. "I've given you enough chances, _dear_. All you've done is bring me down and I'm done with it, you hear? _I. AM. DONE._"

"Good for you," Lily replies, still laughing. "Have fun."

"Oh, I will," Lucy snaps, turning on one of the high heels that Lily probably forced onto her. "Have a nice life. No, wait- call me when you _get_ a life."

Once again, he finds himself surprised at her careful wit and sarcasm, characteristic of the typical Ravenclaw but not something he'd really associated with tiny Lucy. He continues to watch, intrigued, not giving either of them any sign that he's there.

"I have a life, honey," Lily pleads, giggling, as if it would help her case.

"Yeah, right," Lucy hisses. "I've sat around and watched you for _ages_, doing nothing and lazing around on that lazy bum of yours. I know you, Zeke, and I know how you really are. So don't even try to pretend with me. I'm done with _you_ and your horrid personality. I only came here to say goodbye. So don't try to stop me."

"Okay then," Lily replies, face turning red and not looking upset or anything, which her character probably should have. But then again, she doesn't look the part at all- her fiery red hair is pinned on top of her head, and she's got a Slytherin scarf around her neck- but other than that, she's still typical Lily.

Lucy crosses her arms once again. "See, you've just done it again- proved that you don't care about me at all. I'm done. Goodbye, I hope I never see you again." Scowling, she storms out.

"The end!" Lily declares.

From where he's sitting in the grass, he begins to applaud loudly. Both Lucy and Lily's heads snap up, startled, to where he's sitting. He grins at both of them.

"Lorcan!" Lily reprimands him, looking unhappy. "You scared us!"

Lucy interrupts her, looking a lot more curious than angry. "How long have you been there? In fact, why do you want to watch us, anyway?"

"It's very interesting, just so you know," Lorcan announces, smiling at the both of them. "Besides, Lucy, as I've told you before about a hundred times, you're an amazing actress and I love watching you. I wish that you would…"

"I told you, Lorcan," She interrupts him icily. "I'm not interested in being an actress."

Lily catches on. Seemingly realising the potential greatness of her cousin, she exclaims, "You should so be an actress, Lucy! Then you would be a star, and maybe you could go to Broadway…"

"Broadway is in America, Lily," Lucy sighs. "And it doesn't make any sense for a witch to be an actress. It's not making full use of my gifts, at least that's what Daddy says…"

"Since when have you listened to what your Daddy says?" Lily demands, her fiery spirit showing through. She doesn't even allow Lucy to answer. "Never, Lucy, never. So why are you listening now?"

Lucy's mouth drops open and she looks terrified. "I don't know, Lily, you tell me. It's just a little nerve wracking to go against your family's wishes and become something where you don't know what will happen to you. I've heard the stories about people becoming fame-driven and I _don't _want to become like that."

"So you're going to give up something you love to do just because of that?" Lorcan demands.

"I suppose so," Lucy sighs. "Really, Lorcan, what else can I do?"

Lorcan and Lily both just shake their heads, sighing nearly in unison.

…

Another year passes by in the blink of an eye. His once little girls are both growing up, entering their hormonal teenage years.

One day, there's a Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match. No one out of the three of them play Quidditch, so they're in the stands. Lily refuses to sit with them though, saying it would go against Gryffindor tradition and she has to have Gryffindor loyalty. So she sits with her Gryffindor friends, and Lorcan sits with Lucy.

"What's the point in Quidditch, anyway?" Lucy mumbles, situated under a blanket. "I mean, it's just meatheads riding around on sticks."

"You consider my brother and your cousins meatheads?" Lorcan replies, amused. But he laughs nonetheless, because he _knows_ that it's true.

"Of course," She replies dismissively. "And one more thing I don't understand. Why do people consider Quidditch players to be all buff and strong? Really, all they do is fly around on sticks, which doesn't take that much effort or strength. Most of them are really fat or skinny as the broomsticks that they ride on."

Lorcan laughs again. Glancing about the Quidditch pitch, he sees her words to be right, with two exceptions. "What about Lysander and Louis? They seem pretty strong."

"They work out outside of Quidditch," Lucy replies dismissively. "Trust me, I've caught them a time or two."

"You've caught them working out?" Lorcan repeats, disgusted. "Never mind, I'm sure I don't even want to know. Anyway…"

Lucy's eyelids nearly flutter shut, and she yawns, as if she's about to fall asleep. Smirking at her, Lorcan jokes, "I can tell you're not a big fan of Quidditch, then?"

"No, it's my favourite sport," She replies sarcastically, letting her eyes shut for a moment before opening them again. "Molly's awfully excited, though." She points a thumb down to where Molly sits with Lysander, Albus, and Rose. "Probably because of Lysander."

"Of course," Lorcan laughs contentedly. "Want to place a bet on how long before they start going out?"

"Two weeks from today," Lucy sighs, her eyelids finally closing and mouth still open.

"Three weeks for me," Lorcan says, but it's too late, she's 'fallen asleep'.

Well, that lasts all of ten seconds before she jumps up and shrieks, scaring Lorcan nearly enough to make him pee his pants.

"Merlin, Lucy!" Lorcan exclaims, jumping up. "What possessed you to scream like that?"

"Nothing," Lucy replies, laughing. "I just wanted to scare you, that's all."

"Well, it worked," Lorcan groans, trying not to laugh because that will just encourage her.

"Ooh," Lucy says, still sounding a bit sarcastic. "Look, they've let out the Snitch. Go, Eric!"

Eric Hart is soaring through the sky alongside Lysander, both of them heading for the Snitch. Suddenly, Lysander curves sharply, causing Eric to tumble a little bit. That gives Lysander just the advantage he needs, and he catches the Snitch in his outstretched hand.

The Gryffindor team immediately shoots to their feet, screaming and shouting. In the distance, they see Lily, jumping up and waving her red and gold flag. Sighing, Lorcan stands up slowly. Turning to Lucy, he says, "Well, at least we weren't crushed or anything."

"At least," Lucy sighs.

Extending a hand, he helps her to her feet, and they leave the Quidditch stadium, thoughts racing through both of their heads.

….

It's later that year _(two and a half weeks later_) that Molly and Lysander begin to _date_.

To them, it seems a bit random, though it might not have been. They just come up to Lucy, Lily and Lorcan, hand in hand. Even though Lucy and Lorcan _(and probably Lily)_ both know what's going on from the two's flaming face and entwined hands, they wait for the awkward explanation.

Lysander clears his throat, face nearly the colour of a tomato. "Um, Lucy, Lily, Lorcan? We have something that we sort of need to tell you. Molly, how about you tell them?"

"Lysander," Molly complains, but without looking either of them in the eye, she says, "Me and Lysander… we're…well, we are… sort of… _dating_."

"Oh, really now?" Lucy answers, cocking an eyebrow. Lorcan nearly falls into the floor with laughter. Even Lily just snickers a little behind her hand.

"_What_?" Molly demands, face heating up all the more.

"Who wins the bet, Lucy dear?" Lorcan grins at his friend. "It's only been two and a half weeks."

"No one, I suppose," Lucy groans. "I was looking forward to that money. Couldn't you two have gotten together a few days earlier?"

"_What_ are you talking about?" Lysander spits, glaring at his brother and his girlfriend's sister and cousin.

Lucy and Lorcan are both laughing too hard to speak, so Lily speaks for both of them, smile on her face still. "They made a bet about when you two would get together. Lucy said within two weeks of the Quidditch game, Lorcan said within three weeks. They think it's funny that you think they didn't see it coming."

"That's not confusing at all," Lysander mumbles, trying to copy Lorcan's signature sarcasm but failing miserably, causing Lucy and Lorcan to go into peals of laughter once again.

"It's not funny," Molly replies crossly, frowning at them. Slipping her hand through Lysander's, she tugs him away. "Come on, Lys. We've got to go."

Lysander shoots them an apologetic look as Molly drags him off. Grinning, Lily turns to Lucy and Lorcan. "Shall I prank them?"

"If you want to," Lorcan shrugs. "But I won't help you, and who are you going to recruit to help you?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll find many willing participants," Lily shrugs, grinning at the two of them. Walking away, she tosses her red hair behind her. "I'll see you all later then."

Lorcan tries not to meet Lucy's eyes. But then he does, and they collapse in laughter on the floor again, both of them. It's really quite a lot of fun.

….

The year finishes with Lysander and Molly still going strong _(the perfect couple, aren't they?) _and then the next year comes along. Little Lucy is now fourteen and a fourth year, whereas Lorcan's a sixteen year old sixth year, and neither of them are quite so little anymore. They're a bit more mature, too.

One day, when they're both sitting out in the grass _(Lily's gone to seek out Jared Abercrombie, some Slytherin whom she currently thinks is hot)_, Lorcan asks her, "I don't mean to sound like I'm obsessed or anything- but thought any more about acting, now that you're more mature and all?"

"I don't know, Lorcan," She sighs. "I mean, I want to… but I'm scared."

"Give it a try," he pleads, staring at her with watery blue eyes. "For me?"

Finally, she relents, letting out a long sigh. "Fine. But what play would I be in anyway? It's not like a sign up sheet for some play is randomly going to appear. It'll take some time anyway because of that."

"Lucy," Lorcan sighs. "I didn't just bring this up randomly, you know. I noticed a sign up sheet for a school play when I was walking down the corridor the other day, and I immediately thought of you. You'll audition, won't you?"

Lucy stops, her blue eyes shining with mirth. "Hold up, Lorcan. _Hogwarts_ is holding a school play? What is this, some cliché Muggle movie or something? Because that's what it's starting to sound like."

Lorcan throws up his arms in that way that means he is unsure. "I don't know, Lucy, I didn't decide. But you should audition anyway."

"Of course, I'm planning on it," Lucy grins. "But the idea behind it is like _Hogwarts School Musical _or something."

Lorcan laughs again, because Lucy's always been the one to cheer him up like this. "You could play Gabriella, Lucy!"

"And what?" She smirks."You'll be Troy? This could be the _start_ of something new!"

Lorcan laughs again, doubling over this time. "It's amazing how much we actually know about that terrible Muggle movie."

"Yes, it is," Lucy agrees, giggling too now. "So, where's the sign up sheet? And are you going to do it?"

"Me, act?" Lorcan lets out a barking laugh. "As if. Have you seen me act, Lucy dear?"

"You could help backstage," Lucy suggests excitedly. "Come on! You would be great, especially at maintaining order- you didn't make Prefect for nothing! You've got it, Lorcan!"

"I suppose I could," Lorcan considers.

Grinning, she throws her arms around him like an excited child. "Thank you, Lorcan! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Then she tugs the still in shock boy off in search of the sign up sheet.

Once they get there, Lucy writes her name with a flourish, adding a star at the end. Then she hands the pen off to Lorcan. Smiling sweetly, she says, "The sign up sheet for the backstage workers is right beside the other one. Go ahead, then."

Slowly, he clutches the quill, curling his fingers around it. He then holds it to the paper, scrawling '_Lorcan Scamander' _before handing the quill off to Lucy. "I suppose I'm committed to this play now or something now, aren't I?"

"Don't worry, Lorcan," Lucy pats his arm. "I'll be there too."

He looks at her, in all of her happiness, and he knows this is what she wants more than anything.

…

The play rehearsals flash by, and everything seems to be coming together. Lucy lands a starring role; of course, he'd never doubted she wouldn't. The stage is reserved. The posters are set up. The tickets are sold. Everything's going to go perfect, or so they think.

That is, until the night before the play, when Lorcan discovers Lucy crying in the Ravenclaw common room.

Rubbing her back, he asks, "What's wrong, Lucy?"

"Daddy sent me a Howler," Lucy sobs, placing her head on his shoulder and letting the tears soak into his robes. "It said-" She stops, hiccupping, for dramatic pause _(something so typical of Lucy)_, before continuing, "It was asking how I could even consider being in the school play when I have _schoolwork_ to focus on. It said that acting is not an acceptable profession for a bright witch like me."

"Oh, Lucy," He envelopes the short girl in a hug. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," She replies, wiping the still falling tears from her eyes. "He's right, Lorcan."

"What?" Lorcan shoots to his feet so that he towers a few feet above her, finding it necessary for this 'mission'. "Lucy, of course he isn't right! How could you even think that? You were given the talent of acting for a reason, and that reason is to show it off! You should act, develop your talent, and not care what your father thinks of it. Trust me, if you act in that show tomorrow, you'll shine like no one else."

"Will I?" Lucy whispers, wiping the tears away from her eyes and hugging him again.

"I know you will," He tells her.

"But my father, he doesn't think it's acceptable," Lucy tells him, wiping at her eyes again. "He won't approve of it, Lorcan, and you know if I act in the play I'll receive another Howler."

Lorcan beams. "And I'll burn it for you."

Shaking her head, Lucy informs him, "All reason is against a witch being an actress."

"Don't listen to reason, Lucy," Lorcan encourages her. "Some things don't involve reason at all, did you know that?"

She giggles finally, wiping her tears away once again. "This coming from the Ravenclaw prefect."

"Because the Ravenclaw prefect can see the reasoning behind there being no reason for things," Lorcan explains, smiling at her. "And the Ravenclaw prefect has enough wisdom to give you the advice that you should take. Go forward with that show tomorrow, Lucy, and don't worry about what reason or your father says. Just worry about what you want for once."

"That's very unreasonable," Lucy says, but then she nods, still looking a bit doubtful. "All right. I'll do the show tomorrow."

He nods, wrapping his strong arms around her small body once again. "I'll see you there then, Lucy. And I'll be watching from backstage, cheering you on the whole entire time."

"Will you?" Lucy whispers, wiping the tears away again and nodding.

…

If there's one person that gets on Lorcan Scamander's nerves the most, it's Molly Weasley the Second.

But he has to go and talk to her anyway, because he knows that Lucy needs her tomorrow as a stronghold, a reassurance. He's sure that Molly can do that because Molly's got enough strength and stubborn tendencies for the both of them.

When he approaches her, he greets her tersely. "Weasley."

"Scamander," She says, glaring at him. "What do _you_ want?"

"Coming to Lucy's show tomorrow?" He asks a bit hopefully.

"Why?" She growls, red curls brushing the tip of her shoulder. "You fancy me or something, Scamander? I'm already going out with your brother, remember? Just because I have a thing for one Scamander doesn't mean I have a thing for the other."

He feels his face heating up, despite his efforts not to let it. Hotly, he responds, "Of course I don't have a thing for _you_, Molly. I was just wondering because for whatever reason, Lucy wants you there. She needs the support of her father, especially since her father sent her a Howler tonight."

For a second, Molly's face drops, and he sees her façade fall to pieces. "He sent her a _Howler_? Are you- are you joking?" She stumbles over her words, something almost uncharacteristic of Molly Weasley.

"Would I joke about something like that?" Lorcan replies, as seriously as he can. "Your father, Percy Weasley, sent Lucy a Howler just because she's acting in a play."

"Oh, Merlin," Molly runs her hands through her red curls. Glancing up again as if she's just realised that Lorcan's still standing there, she says shakily, "Tell Lucy that I'll be there tomorrow for sure."

He's never seen _Molly Weasley_ the unbreakable like this, stuttering over her words and looking unsure. So he just nods. "She'll be thrilled, I'm sure."

"All right," She says, and in a remarkably small voice, finishes the conversation. "Well, goodbye then, Lorcan. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," He calls, and he realises that maybe Molly Weasley has a heart too.

_(It's hard not to love Lucy, anyway.)_

….

At the play the next day, he sits backstage with the other backstage help, trying to keep the excited first years quiet and under control while attempting to watch the show.

The play, which Lorcan discovers was written at some point by a student at the school, is about a girl who's trying to find her place in the world. The girl makes all the wrong decisions in her quest and misuses her talents before discovering that what she needed was right in front of her the wrong time.

_Oh, the irony, _Lorcan thinks, closing his blue eyes and biting on his tongue as not to laugh. But she's good, as always- in fact, she puts so much of her own personality into the character that he has to constantly remind himself that it's supposed to be _Miyra _up there, not Lucy. Peeking through the curtains, he notices that she's got the whole audience riveted, and how could she ever doubt herself? She's amazing, everyone knows it.

The only part he could think to object to is that the story has touches of romance, and well, a boy named Ed Pavensy is playing in it. They seem to be _falling in love_ or whatever. Lorcan sort of hates it, because Lucy is basically his little sister/ best friend_ (isn't she?)_ and he has every right to be 'protective' of her.

Smirking widely, his brother approaches from behind. "Jealous, yet?"

Lorcan spins around, scowling. "Jealous? Yeah, right. It's _Lucy_, Lysander- she's like my little sister! How could I think of her that way? Not to mention she's only a fourth year, and I'm a sixth year!"

Laughing, Lysander just shakes his head. "Do I even need to _say_ how in denial you are? You're in love with Lucy Weasley, Lorcan Scamander! Can't you just admit that and move on with life?"

"It's kind of obvious," Someone says, stepping out of the shadows. Louis Weasley, who he always hangs out with (because though he's a Gryffindor, he sometimes hangs with Ravenclaws) steps out of the shadows. "Lysander here scheduled an intervention. We figured it's time for you to face the facts, because as you know, _denial_ is the stage you're in right now."

"Are you crazy?" Lorcan hisses. "During the _show_? I want to watch; you guys have permission to leave me alone."

"He wants to watch his love," James Potter teases, laughing.

"Shut up," Lorcan frowns at them. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Do we?" James teases. "No, only here at your _intervention_, darling. Oh, sorry, I forgot only Lucy could call you that."

This comment makes Lysander and Louis double over, laughing so hard that they can't breathe. Annoyed, Lorcan quickly ushers them outside, hoping that he hasn't missed anything important. Yet, when he gets another glimpse of the stage, his breath catches in his throat.

_Lucy Weasley_ is kissing her romantic interest, this _Ed Pavensy _kid.

Sure, he knows it's supposed to be _Miyra_ and _Paul_ up there, not _Ed_ and _Lucy_, but really, as his vision blurs before him, all he can see is Lucy. He doesn't want to think about them kissing- not to mention all of the times they must have kissed in rehearsal! Scowling, his temper rises.

_Wait a second_, his brain calls out to him, catching him before he does something stupid in true Ravenclaw fashion. _Why do you care anyway? You were saying just a second that Lucy's like a sister to you, and only that. So why do you care if she snogs Ed Pavensy? Can't she just go and snog whomever she wants to? Why should you be the one holding her back?_

_You're right,_ his train of thought continues_. She can go snog whomever she wants to, see if I care. And oh Merlin, Lorcan, you're thinking like a girl again- if only they could hear you now!_

The applause rising and escalating from within the auditorium indicates the ending of their performance. Quickly, Lorcan peers in to see Lucy Weasley bowing. Her reaction is a well-deserved, earned standing ovation, and she looks so _proud_. Sighing, he walks out, holding the previously purchased bouquet of flowers in his hand. He glares at them. At the moment, he feels like tossing them to the ground and stomping on them.

"Jealous?" Someone asks from behind. Turning, he sees Molly Weasley, the _last_ person he wants to see right now.

"Hardly," He scoffs, trying to force a smile onto his face that's good enough to fool her at the very least.

"Don't fool with me, Scamander," She says, pursing her lips. "I know jealousy like the back of my hand. We were partners for quite a few years before… well, you know, me and Lysander. So don't play pretend anymore."

"Fine," Lorcan snaps, wondering _how_ this girl can get under his skin so easily. "Fine, I'm jealous, but I don't know why, so don't say anything." Then, flowers clutched in his hand, he dashes into the auditorium.

Nearly the whole of the Weasley family _(except for her father, he notes_) is crowded around Lucy, offering congratulations and praise. He pushes through the crowd of them, confident smile upon his face. Holding out the flowers, he smiles. "You did great, just as I knew you would."

A smile _(using all of her perfect teeth_) appears on her face. "Thank you, Lorcan," She denotes with grace.

But then, taking the flowers, she disappears into the crowd again, perhaps to go find the Ed Pavensy child. He sighs, wondering why he even cares again.

James shoots him a knowing smile, but he turns and walks away.

….

It's later that year that Lily Luna Potter wracks up all of her courage and asks her out. Lucy's still off in her _Dreamland _with _Ed Pavensy_, and Lily's really a pretty girl, sweet too, so of course he accepts. That's when everything starts to go into turmoil.

"Lucy," Lily says brightly, dragging Lorcan by the hand over to go talk to Lucy. "Lucy, we need to talk to you."

Suspiciously, Lucy looks back and forth between the two of them until her eyes focus on their hands. Confused, she lifts her hands and says innocently, "What about?"

Embarrassed and a bit nervous about her reaction, Lorcan mutters so that she nearly can't hear him, "We're going out."

"What was that, Lorcan?" She repeats, cocking a light brown eyebrow. "I thought you said something about the ground."

Mustering up all of his strength _(and nonexistent bravery_), Lorcan repeats at his normal volume, "Well, Lily and I, we're sort of, kind of, well, we _are_… going out."

The expression on Lucy's face after he says that- well, he wishes that he could freeze frame it and hang it on his wall with a caption that says_ This is what happens when you try to make a good decision, Lorcan Scamander_. The expression her face after he says that is one of pure hurt, pain, and jealousy all mixed together. It's not a very pleasant thing to think about at all.

Obliviously, Lily exclaims, "Well, aren't you happy for us, cousin?"

"Thrilled," Lucy says, her voice maintaining its usual brightness but somehow including a touch of deadpan that's not usually present at the same time.

"Good," Lily grins, still not catching on to Lucy's obvious discomfort _(really, Lorcan thinks, she's a good actress, but not that good)_. "Don't worry, Lucy- we won't make you feel like a third wheel or anything, promise! Everything will stay the same, I'm sure of it."

"Sure," Lucy replies easily. But indecision on her face indicates the torn feelings that she's having inside of her. As if she believes that's not enough to fool them _(it's surely not enough to fool Lorcan_), she quickly adds, "I trust you two."

But does she really? Lorcan doesn't think so. He nods anyway. "We trust you too, Lucy."

She smiles, brushing a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear. Nodding at them, she says, "I suppose I'll just leave you two… _alone_."

"Bye, Lucy!" Lily yells cheerfully at her retreating figure.

Lorcan feels torn. Inside, he wants to yell for her to come back, because for some reason he finds it awkward to be alone with Lily. But on the outside, he can't show any of this, because Lily's standing _right there_. So he just waves limply and watches her walk away.

Then he turns back to Lily, still feeling awkward, and all the more when he asks her, "So, what should we do now?"

She just shrugs. "Well, this is a bit awkward, isn't it? How about we go exploring or something?"

….

It becomes more and more increasingly obvious to Lorcan as time goes on that Lucy Weasley is not herself. She's all the more withdrawn, as she was the first time that he met her, when she didn't laugh or anything. She doesn't laugh with him anymore now, and he's beginning to find that he misses it.

Sure, Lily makes him laugh, but her type of humour is a bit more childish than Lucy's sharp wit and funny comments. Lily's type of humour is more pranking people and making fun of them.

He tries to pretend that he doesn't miss Lucy, but hey, he's never been good at pretending.

One day, James confronts him, one of his worst nightmares. Scowling, he asks, "Why are you doing this?"

Lorcan chooses to go for the innocent route. "What the heck are you talking about, James Potter?"

"Don't play innocent," James sneers, taking on the persona of the overprotective brother. "You're using Lily, I can tell already."

"Using her?" Lorcan's eyes widen without him telling them to. _Is that what he's doing? Using Lily?_

"You're in love with Lucy, kid," James sneers, looking scary and not at all the funny boy that was at the play all those weeks ago. "You're in love with Lucy and you're dating Lily. I'd say that's using someone. Don't even try to deny it, I can tell."

"I don't mean to," Lorcan swallows. "And what do you want me to do? Break it off with Lily? That would hurt her even more, wouldn't it?" He pictures her lively face, all broken and crumpled and _hurt_. It hurts him too. Even though he's not necessarily in love with her, she's still his best friend, and he doesn't want to hurt her at all.

James just sighs, face softening. "I don't know, Lorcan. I don't want you to hurt her, that's all, and if she ever found out that you're just using her… I don't know. I love her, Lorc. She's my little sister, and you know that I have to protect her."

"I understand, James," Lorcan sighs, staring at his feet. "I don't want to hurt her, she's my best friend. I never meant to use her or anything. She asked me out and she's very pretty, so I was thinking that maybe it could work out. So of course I said yes. But now we're going out and I don't feel anything for her. Not the way I do for…"

"Lucy," James finishes with a knowing look. "You've gotten yourself into a sticky situation, Lorcan. Either way you go you're hurting _someone_. But you can't stay in this unhealthy relationship, even if it makes Lils happy. You've got to do what's best for you sometimes, too."

"I'm sorry, James," Lorcan says sincerely. "If Lily gets hurt and comes to you… tell her I'm sorry, yeah?"

"All right," He agrees. Then, without a goodbye or anything, James takes off in the opposite direction, leaving Lorcan to his own guilty thoughts.

….

He finds Lucy in the Ravenclaw common room, where she's been for nearly a month now, not doing _anything_. It bothers him to no end, because he's used to the Lucy that's full of life, and this Lucy- this just isn't her. He doesn't have this much influence on her, does he?

Slowly, he walks over and sits down beside her. "Hello, Lucy."

"Hello, Lorcan," She repeats in monotone, not even bothering to _act_ like she's happy, which bothers him even more. This isn't the Lucy that he knew. The Lucy he knew is long gone.

"Something bothering you?" He asks, falsely hoping that she'll tell him.

"What do you think, Lorcan?" She replies, still blandly, still with no emotion. It still bothers him.

He just blinks his eyes and shakes his head. "If it helps at all, I'm sorry, and I want to help you."

"I don't need your help, Lorcan," She hisses venomously. It's the first emotion he's heard her express the whole time they've been talking.

"Sorry," He repeats, staring at her. "I mean… Lucy, why are you doing this? You're not yourself anymore; all that life in you is _gone_. It's like you don't even exist anymore."

"Well, you didn't seem to realise I existed anymore after you started dating darling Lily," Lucy replies, just glaring at him out of her pretty blue eyes. "So what does it matter to you?"

So it is about him, he deduces sadly. Staring at her, he shakes his head in disbelief. "Of course you still exist to me, Lucy! How could you ever think that you don't exist to me? I'm worried about you, Lucy, we all are- we still know you exist!"

She just stares at him out of her unfathomable eyes. "Do you?"

"Of course," He says, and he feels like he's begging but oh well, this is _Lucy_ here.

She just brings her eyes back down to stare at the ground once again. "I'm not buying it, Lorcan. Just go have a nice life with Lily. See if I care anymore."

Then, hair swishing back and forth, she walks off, eyes trained on the ground. That's when he realises that he _needs_ to break up with Lily and he _needs_ to do it soon.

….

"Lucy's putting on another show," a particularly ecstatic Lily announces one day.

It has been two weeks and he _still_ hasn't broken up with Lily. But hey, Ravenclaws are never known for their courage, are they?

"Another _show_?" He peers at Lily, confused. "What do you mean, putting on another show?"

"A play, whatever you call it," Lily replies in some bubbly fashion. "She's putting on a play next week. Are you going to go?"

Lorcan's jaw drops, staring at her. "Really? She's putting on a _play_?" Lucy hasn't shown any sign of wanting to do _anything_ ever since their 'fight', and now she's going to put on a full-length play?

"Yes," Lily says patiently, seeming a bit irritated. "I told you that already."

"What kind of play?" Lorcan says, interested. How come he seemed to be the last to have heard about this?

"A play," Lily growls. "What other type of play is there?"

"I mean, is it like school run or what?" Lorcan inquires. "Did she make it up herself?"

Lily shrugs, smiling. "I heard that Molly and Lucy made it up together. Something about giving someone a message? I don't know anything about it though, so don't trust what I say."

"All right," Lorcan replies, feeling as if he's going to vomit. He has a feeling who this 'message' is going to.

"Well, I'll see you there, won't I?" Lily grins at him, looking like an innocent child and _gosh_, his love life is so messed up at this point.

"Yes, you will," Lorcan informs her, trying hard to smile.

Then, it happens.

He doesn't know how or even why, but suddenly she's _this close_ to his face. Her lips meet his. Just like he'd believed previously, there's nothing in this relationship for him. There's no sparks, no wonder, _nothing_. It's not like he wants to hurt Lily- he _doesn't- _so he just lets her kiss him for a minute. But it turns out to be the wrong decision.

That's when Lucy Weasley walks around the corner. Spotting the two of them, her eyes widen in hurt and pain again. He hates this look on her. He hates her pain. Hurt, she mutters, "Um, sorry, I suppose I'll just go. _Obviously_ this was the wrong corridor to use."

Then she takes off, leaving Lily and Lorcan in silence.

"I, um, I have to go," Lorcan mutters, running his hands through his short brown hair. "I'll see you later, Lily."

He feels bad leaving Lily all alone, but this whole situation is so messed up that he needs to take some time to think about it all.

….

The next day comes before he's ready, and he drags himself to the Room of Requirement, where this play is being held. Molly's standing by the door, handing out programs. Icily, she glares at Lorcan. As he goes in, she hands him a program, hissing, "This one's _especially_ for you."

Smeared in something that looks like blood on the front, it says, "_You broke her heart._"

Sighing, he folds the program over, clutching it tightly in his hand. He takes a seat beside Natalie, who nods at him. "You know the Weasley/ Potters aren't very happy with you right now."

"Are they?" Lorcan grits his teeth, handing the program to Natalie. "I haven't noticed."

Reading the cover, Natalie laughs. She actually _laughs_. "Oh, Lorcan, I bet you've never been hated by this many people before for something, you innocent little Ravenclaw."

"Look who's talking," Lorcan nudges her arm. "I figured you were safe, being a Patil and not a Weasley/ Potter. Well, you might become a Weasley sometime, but not right now."

Natalie laughs, blushing. "No, I'm not marrying Louis any time soon. Just dating at the moment. But it's his last year at school… _anyway_. Have any idea what this is about?"

"Lucy's way of revenge at me," Lorcan sighs, putting his head in his hand. "I have the most messed up love life ever, Natalie."

"No," Natalie laughs, jabbing her thumb at a blonde boy with a girl on either side of him- one with dark red curly hair and one with blonde hair, both Weasleys. "_That_ would be Scorpius. He's leading both Rose and Dominique on, not choosing either one."

"_Ahem_," Someone clears their throat, and a hush falls over the auditorium. Lucy Weasley stands there, hands on hips. "If you didn't know, I'm Lucy Weasley, and I'm here to perform an original play that my sister Molly helped me write. So please watch and enjoy."

Lorcan watches, intrigued, as Lucy takes the stage, yet again as an innocent little girl. She plays her character, a girl that's ignored by her crush, flawlessly. The 'clueless' boy, portrayed by none other than the Ed Pavensy boy, goes and dates her beautiful cousin instead. Then they 'make out' _(it's so obviously fake_) in front of the girl, who runs off, crying.

Lucy's character then goes into an angsty monologue about how boys only look at the _outside_, but it's the inside that really matters, making Lorcan feel guilty though he hadn't even really considered her outside all that much. He squirms in his seat on the front row, trying not to look at Lucy _(it's impossible_) and trying not to think too much.

Then, in what seems like it's meant to be the ending, the boy that she likes comes up, apologising profusely. She smiles, wiping her _(fake_) tears away and leans in. Right before she kisses Ed Pavensy again, her eyes meet Lorcan's, and she smiles in that _now you can see how it feels_ way.

But then she kisses him, and the play's over. The curtains are pulled.

His heart nearly stops inside of his chest. Inside, he's roaring with jealousy and that little green monster. Sighing, he stomps to the back, not bothering to congratulate Lucy or anything like that.

And _that's_ where he finds Lily, snogging Jared Abercrombie like it's the most natural thing in the world for her to do. His eyes widen exponentially, and he yells, "HEY!"

Guilty, Lily jumps apart from Jared and looks at Lorcan, brown eyes wide with fear.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" He demands of Jared, who's in the year below here, and his girlfriend _(ex-girlfriend_) Lily.

Lily just stares at him pleadingly. Finally, she just shakes her head, saying, "I'm sorry, Lorcan. I didn't mean to…"

"Did you not?" He demands, making her jump. "You didn't mean to _what_? You didn't mean to trample all over my feelings by cheating on me with someone?"

"Well, you were in love with Lucy the whole time!" Lily accuses, standing up to her full height _(which truly isn't too tall)_.

"Does that make what you did right?" Lorcan demands, glaring at her.

Lily hangs her head, staring at the floor. "Of course not. But you're not so in the right either, Lorcan."

"Look, this relationship just isn't working," Lorcan sighs, staring at her longingly. "I know it, and you so obviously know it too. Want to finish it?"

"Let's finish it," Lily agrees, stepping forward to envelope him in a hug as Jared watches awkwardly.

In her ear, Lorcan whispers, "Have fun with Jared, little Miss Lily."

She just laughs one of her bell laughs.

….

It's in one of the corridors that he finally breaks down. Sure, he may be a boy, but he still has feelings. He doesn't cry, not exactly, but he sits there, his head hanging between his arms.

Someone sits down beside him. "Lorcan? Are you… are you okay?"

He lifts his head to see Lucy Weasley. Biting his lip, he doesn't let himself cry or anything girly like that. Instead, he tells his once best friend and current _love_, "Lily's been cheating on me."

Her mouth drops, and she reaches out to put a hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry, Lorcan. And about the play tonight…"

"It was for me, wasn't it?" Lorcan says, burying his head back between his arms.

"Originally, it was," Lucy admits, trying not to act mad anymore. "But I'm all over that now. I mean, we weren't dating or anything, it was stupid of me to overreact. I was just…" she lifts her head so that her eyes bear into his. "I think I was a bit jealous."

"We told you that we wouldn't make you feel like a third wheel," Lorcan sighs, staring at her. "It was your own isolation that…"

"No," She interrupts him stubbornly, eyes wide in that nervous way of hers. "I was jealous of your relationship. I was jealous of Lily. I liked you. Correction- I still _do _like you."

His eyes widen, and he realises how _close_ she is to him. Frowning, he just stares at her. "Um, Lucy?" But that's about when his hormones seize control of him, and he leans in…

Frowning, she pushes him away. His eyes widen, filled with the hurt of rejection. She just shakes her head. "It's not you, Lorcan, it's me. I don't want to be the one to 'comfort you' after your breakup with Lily. I don't want to be your rebound girl. If you could show me somehow that you really do care about _me_, and not just as a rebound, then I'll gladly kiss you or go out with you."

She stands up, dusting herself off, and smiles at him, a bittersweet smile. He stands up beside her. "I understand completely, Lucy, I suppose. I'll find a way…"

"All right," Lucy nods, still nearly hypnotized by him. "I've got to go now, anyway. Sorry about… everything."

"I'm the one who should be apologising," Lorcan answers her, nodding. "I'll see you later, Lucy."

Nodding, she leaves, and his eyes follow her, his heart heavy with so much regret.

….

Being the Ravenclaw that he is, he comes up with a plan almost immediately. It involves writing a letter and getting Lucy to do a play.

The second one is almost too easy, he just hands her a script and asks her with begging blue eyes. She nods, grinning, and asks him where they're meant to perform. Shrugging, he tells her it's a surprise.

Then he writes the letter.

_Dear Mr. Percival Weasley,_

_I am Lorcan Scamander, a great friend of your daughter's. I've heard a lot about you over the years. For the most part, you seem like an amazing man, with one exception. I have heard that you sent your daughter Lucy a Howler for being an actress._

_An actress is, in fact, an acceptable profession for a witch. Going back in time, we've seen many witches that have become actresses, and have in fact made it big time. One such actress is Emma Watson. _

_Your daughter surely has talent in this area. If you would allow her to develop her gift to the best of her ability, I'm sure that she would enjoy it and possibly stop trying to hold back. The one thing that would mean the world to you, I know, would be if you could possibly come to her performance, March 23__rd__ at the Unicorn Theatre. _

_Thank you so much for trying to understand my reasoning. I really hope that you accept._

_Sincerely,_

_Lorcan Scamander._

His reply arrives two weeks later, a week before the performance.

_Dear Lorcan Scamander,_

_I have read through and given your proposals some careful thought._

_Thinking back on it, I can remember some examples of great witch actresses. Very well, pass along to Lucy that I shall be allowing her to act. I will consider coming to her performance._

_You seem like a very respectable young man. Have you ever considered a position at the Ministry?_

_From,_

_Mr. Percival Weasley_

After snorting a bit at the end part, Lorcan pumped a fist in victory.

….

Before he knew it, the day came, and he ushers Lucy to outside of the Hogwarts Grounds. Using Side-Along Apparition _(he's just barely of age_), he manages to get them to the outside of the Theatre.

"Welcome to where you'll be doing your performance, my dear," Lorcan says, holding his arms up as if to emphasize something.

"Here?" Lucy's blue eyes widen. "This is where I'm doing it?"

"Yes, love, here," Lorcan informs her.

Thanking him quickly, she runs inside, obviously to get ready for her performance. Along with the rest of his adopted family, he sits down, getting ready for this.

The play, which actually has a plot about a girl finding herself and realising her gifts, is done amazingly. The team she's recruited for back up actually does a wonderful job too, though, of course, Lucy still shines like nobody else in his opinion. By the end of it, his eyes nearly fill with happy tears as she bows. He, along with the rest of the crowd, gives her the standing ovation she so deserves.

It's then that he goes up to the front, bouquet of flowers in his hand, but someone beats him there.

"Lucy, darling," Percy Weasley says, staring at his daughter in a completely new way.

"Daddy?" She inquires, staring at him, quite terrified.

"You were wonderful," He says in a softer voice than the stern one Lorcan usually hears. Shrieking with laughter, Lucy rushes into his arms, looking happier than he can ever remember seeing her before. Percy just grins at her. "If you really want to thank someone, go thank that boyfriend of yours, Lorcan. He's the one that asked me to come here, anyway."

Lucy's head shoots up, and she pulls away from her dad, walking slowly over to Lorcan. "_You_ did all of this?" When he nods, she just shakes her head. "Why?"

He laughs at her obvious doubt and hands her the flowers. "Lucy Weasley, I've been, well, sort of in love with you for a while now, though I suppose I've been in denial. So, um, I just wanted to know if you would go out with me?"

Her face lights up, and she just nods, obviously beyond words.

From across the room, he sees James and Louis nod, saying something like 'it's about time'.

But he doesn't really pay attention to them. Instead, he leans in and kisses Lucy on the lips.

In that second, he knows that _this is worth waiting for._

_(and the lights just keep on dimming)_

**A/N: Finito. My fifth 10K. Oh gosh. I feel so old.**

**Haha.**

**This is for those amazing newbies at the NextGen fanatics.**

**First, for Blue, because she's amy-zing and she likes Mollysander and LucyLorcan and she reviews my stuff, which must take a lot of patience! LOVE YOU, BLUE!**

**Second, for Jane, because she's awesome and she actually reviews all of my stuff too, which probably takes a while. Love ya, Jane!**

**And for Verity and other newbies, cause you know you guys are amazing XD**

**READ AND REVIEW, CAUSE I LOVE YOU! ;)**


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